Hand loom and combination display device

ABSTRACT

A combination loom and display device comprising a frame defining a central opening and having substantially flat front and rear surfaces spaced by connecting side walls. Yarn holding fingers extending from front wall to the rear wall but not beyond the confines of the planes of the front and rear walls.

United States Patent Dunn et al.

154] HAND AND COMBINATION DISPLAY DEVICE 72] Inventors: Donald P. Dunn;Helen 'r. Dunn,

both of 45 Christopher St., New York, NY. 10014 J 22 Filed: Jan. 16,1970

[21] Appl. No.: 3,265

52 us. Cl. ..139/34, 28/15, 40/125 51 1111.01. ..D03d 29/00, D06c 3/08,G091 7/06 [58] Field of Search.....139/34; 28/15; 40/125 R, 125 1),

40/125 E, 125 F, 125 K, 125

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1451 Oct. 3, 1972 2,227,550l/l941 Moore ..28/15 2,427,093 9/ 1 947 Eckert 139/34 2,654,937 10/1953Smith ..28/15 2,780,854 2/1957 Dritz ..28/15 3,473,097 10/1969 Barnett..40/125 X Primary Examiner-James Kee Chi Attorney-John J. ByrneABSTRACT A combination loom and display device comprising a framedefining a central opening and having substantially flat front and rearsurfaces spaced by connecting side walls. Yarn holding fingers extendingfrom front wall to the rear wall but not beyond the confines of theplanes of the front and rear walls.

A 5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures HAND LOOM AND COMBINATION DISPLAY DEVICEThis invention relates to a hand loom and more particularly to a handloom which is also an ornamental display device.

It is conventional practice to weave a design on a hand loom and removeit for use in another environment. Sometimes the product is used fordisplay purposes as for example, in a picture frame arrangement hung ona wall. It is an object of this invention to provide a combination loomand display device'in which the woven design need not be removed fordisplay purposes in that the loom also is a display device.

It is another object of this invention to provide a combination loom anddisplay device wherein the yarn holdingfingers are wholly within theplanes of the front and rear of the loom.

It is another object of this invention to provide a loom which may besuperimposed over identical looms once complementary designs have beenwoven thereon to provide an ornamental three-dimensional design.

It is another object of this invention to provide a loom and displaydevice having a translucent sheet attached to the rearside thereofbearing a design complementary to the woven design.

In prior art devices, the yarn tying teeth extend from and beyond thesurfaces or planes of the walls thereby precluding the possibilityofx-effectively stacking or superposing a number of looms to provide thethreedimensional effects provided by this invention.

Specifically this invention comprises a hand loom and display devicecomprising a frame defining a multisided central opening and havingfront and rear walls connected in spaced relationship by side walls. Thefront wall is wider than the rear wall and defines a smaller openingthan that defined by the rear wall. The thread holding fingers areattached to the inner edge of the front wall and extend rearwardly andoutwardly from the central opening toward said rear wall but terminatingwithin the plane of the rear wall.

These and other object of the invention will become more apparent tothose skilled in the art by reference to the following detaileddescription when viewed in light of the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the combination hand loom and displaydevice of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on lines 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view of two looms of this invention in tandem relationship;

of this invention. It comprises a rectangular frame having a centralrectangular opening 14. The frame includes front walls 16, side walls 18and rear walls 20. A

flange 22 extends inwardly from the lower edge of the rear wall towardthe front wall 16 and serves to reinforce the substantially hollowframe. The frame is preferably constructed of extruded aluminum orplastic or other suitable lightweight materials though it is to beunderstood that other materials can be used. Further the frame need nobe of hollow configuration, however, such construction is preferable forease of construction and lightness. The front walls 16 are'wider thanthe rear walls 20 and define a multi-sided central opening 14 of smallerdimensions than that defined by the rear wall 20 when viewed from therear. The differences in widths of the respective walls is necessitatedby the positioning of the yam-holding fingers 24 which are attached tothe inner edges of the front walls 16 and extend rearwardly toward therear walls 20. The fingers which are spaced about the periphery of theopening 14, are wholly contained within the planes of the front and rearwalls as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. The purpose of this will becomeapparent below. A transverse detent 26 extends across the ends of eachof the fingers 24 for purposes of retaining the yarn in position on thefingers.

The front and rear walls are substantially flat and since the fingers donot extend beyond the planes of the front and rear walls, the frames maybe readily stacked in tandem relationship as shown in FIG. 3. Such anarrangement is desirable when a greater three-dimensional effect isdesired. For example, in the modification of FIG. 3, a design is wovenon one frame and a complementary design such as a background design, iswoven on the rearmost frame.

Another modification is shown in FIG. 4 wherein a translucent plasticsheet is attached to the rear of the loom 10. The sheet may be used as alight transmitting layer when the display device is illuminated from therear, or it may have a background design thereon complementing the wovendesign on the loom 10.

Both the modifications of FIGS. 3 and 4 are realized by the tyingfingers being wholly contained within the planes of the front and rearwalls so as to define a boxlike configuration in cross section whichpermits the lamination or superposing of a plurality of frames or atranslucent sheet. The frames or translucent sheet are attachedpreferably by the use of an adhesive, though it is to be understood thatrivets, screws or other known attaching devices may be employed.

The fingers 24, especially as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, extend rearwardlyand outwardly from the central opening as to define an acute angle attheir juncture with the front wall 16. The purpose is two-fold. One,they are not as visible when the device is viewed from the front andsecond, the yarns tied through the fingers have more of a tendency tostay in place as opposed to shifting along the axis of the fingers.Instead of a T- shaped finger configuration of FIGS. 1-4, a modifiedfinger 28 is shown in FIG. 5. The fingers 28 are tapered from rear tofront and also prevent the yarn thereon from shifting axially.

In a general manner, while there has been disclosed an efiective andefficient embodiment of the invention, itshould be well understood thatthe invention is not limited to such an embodiment as there might bechanges made in the arrangement, disposition, and

form of the parts without departing from the principle of the presentinvention.

We claim:

1. A hand loom and display device comprising a frame defining anenclosed central opening and having side, front and rear walls, and yarnholding fingers attached to said frame and spaced about said centralsubstantially hollow in cross section and has a reinforcing flangeextending from the from the lower edge of said rear wall toward saidfront wall.

5. The hand loom of claim 1 and including an ornamental design woventhereon, a translucent sheet attached to the rear wall of said loom andhaving a design thereon complementing said woven design, and means forattaching said translucent sheet to said rear wall.

1. A hand loom and display device comprising a frame defining anenclosed central opening and having side, front and rear walls, and yarnholding fingers attached to said frame and spaced about said centralopening, said fingers extending rearwardly from said front wall towardsaid rear wall and outwardly from said central opening and terminatingwithin the plane of said rear wall.
 2. The hand loom of claim 1 whereineach of said fingers has a transversely extending detent at its rearwardend.
 3. The hand loom of claim 1 wherein said fingers are tapered fromrear to front.
 4. The hand loom of claim 1 wherein said frame issubstantially hollow in cross section and has a reinforcing flangEextending from the from the lower edge of said rear wall toward saidfront wall.
 5. The hand loom of claim 1 and including an ornamentaldesign woven thereon, a translucent sheet attached to the rear wall ofsaid loom and having a design thereon complementing said woven design,and means for attaching said translucent sheet to said rear wall.